The Rising Sign and Ascendant

The Sign of the Zodiac which was just coming up on the Eastern Horizon at the time and place of your birth is what is called your "Rising Sign" - and it's there even if no one could see it because the Sun was too bright during daylight hours. To know which
Sign was rising, you have to know what time you were born, and the place you were born (the town or city, state, and country).

Your Sun Sign (what you might call "my zodiac sign" or "star sign") is actually the Sign the Sun was in at birth; and it might just happen to be the same Sign as your Rising Sign ONLY if you were born close to the time of Sunrise while the Sign the Sun was IN was ALSO the Sign that was rising at that time.

When you read your Daily Horoscope or any other "horoscope columns" you should ALSO read the one for your Rising Sign to get a more complete picture.

Click here to Estimate your Rising Sign from this
Table of Rising Signs.
The Rising Sign is sometimes called the "Ascending Sign". It indicates how you appear to others on "first impression", and it is also how you want to appear. It is not who you "are" - it is how you "act". It is your "image" and style and mannerisms. Unless your Rising Sign and Sun Sign are the same (true for only 1 of every 12 people) then what they see is NOT what you are inside. Traits of your Rising Sign show on the outside much more than traits of your Sun Sign.
Click for details.

We can use tables in an Ephemeris (or use a computer program) to determine the exact Sign and degree of that point on the horizon, which is called the Ascendant or "Ascendant Point". As the Earth turns, the Rising Sign moves up from the horizon about one degree every four minutes, so the exact degree of the Rising Sign which is sitting on the horizon is constantly changing over the course of a few minutes. When the 30th degree has risen after about two hours (30 x 4 minutes = 120 minutes), a new Sign appears on the horizon and becomes the new Rising Sign at that time and place.

The Ascendant Point (located somewhere from 0 to 29 degrees of the Ascending or Rising Sign) is always the first degree of the First House in all systems used to calculate the astrological Houses. As the Ascendant moves minute-by-minute, so does the Cusp of the First House and ALL of the other 11 house cusps. So the Sun or Moon or a Planet which might have been in one House at a given time might be in the next House any time from a few minutes to 2 hours later!

This is why your exact birth time is needed to know exactly what House they were in at your time of birth. The Sun and Planets move around the zodiac only one degree or less per day of 24 hours, so they don't change Sign that quickly (unless they were already very close to the cusp at the time); but the House each is in will change at least every two hours - and for some, the House might change within a few minutes.

You can tell the time of birth (approximately) just by looking for the position of the Sun in your birth horoscope - which is also called a "birth chart", or natal horoscope (and you are called the native). When the Sun is located near the Ascendant, you must have been born close to Sunrise (because it indicates the Sun was rising then). When the Sun is at the very top of the chart near the Midheaven, you were born close to Noon. When the Sun is on the horizon line at the right of the chart (near the 7th House cusp) you were born close to Sunset. When the Sun is at the very bottom of the chart you were born near Midnight.